Rambert is the youngest of three brothers born to Angus Garnock, captain of The Headman's Folly, a small trading ship that plied the waters between Yröd and Chalter Medrium. Angus tried his hand at many trades before settling down to a sailor's life, and during his journeys he met, wooed, and won Elsbeth Sankt, the daughter of a Demekrian merchant. Despite their vast cultural differences, the two The clan Garnock is a lowland trading clan (mainly made up of the four sons of old Wylin Garnock and their families), running ships across the way to Chalter Medrium. Rambert's oldest brother, Osbert, set up an inn on the Chalter Medrian coast, The End of the World; his middle brother, Cuthbert, is a mercenary. Rambert and his brothers left Gherin Culloch and the clan business because trade simply was not keeping up, and with competition growing ever more fierce, their chances for profit were dwindling.
The Garnock clan has always had tenuous relations with the Camgialls. Old Wylin was never keen on paying tariffs, but also knew better than to cross the most powerful clan on the Isles, so kept up good appearances with them but was never more than cordial, and that lukewarm cordiality was returned. They are good friends and companions of the Kavanagh Clan, who supply much of the cloth for their sails and trade. The real enemies of the Garnocks has always been the Thorcaill Clan, who also run trade out of Yröd. Their operations are slipshod at best, but they undercut the Garnock trade nonetheless. Their rivalry was only just short of a blood feud.
This made Rambert's secret romance with Aithne Thorcaill all the more problematic. They were both in their teens, but their passion was such that they could not resist one another. They managed to keep their liaison secret for nearly a year, but when it was discovered that Aithne was in a family way, the whole story came out. Rambert left Gherin Culloch as much to escape the undoubted wrath of the clan head Deverell Thorcaill as to seek his fortune. Sadly, he has never discovered what became of Aithne, and is a bit afraid to find out.
Rambert has knocked about the continent for the past score of years, ending up doing jobs of one kind and another in many towns in many countries. He's not above fibbing about his past to make an interesting story, and he always feels compelled to add some personal note about how he learned a tale or song. He has spent time gathering mages' reagents in Karandia (making a friend of the minor wizard Angin Undosian in the process); passed time learning and teaching tales in Orenvale (if only hobbit women were of a different stature, he might have stayed); did some lumbering in Akkoria and actually joined the Navy for a very brief stint (his sudden and unannounced departure two weeks after joining has earned him the enmity of his commanding officer, Adiron Jadoch); and spent some fair amount of time in Quivera, DeMekrium, and Irroquin. His doings keep him in ale and company, though he occasionally runs afoul of the law for minor issues.
Rambert carries a blade but is not particularly skilled with it. He doesn't have much truck with such niceties as honor, courage, and the rest, though he's basically good-hearted and a soft touch for those in trouble. He affects a very gruff and worldly demeanor with a devil-may-care attitude, but he hates to see injustice done and will strike a blow for the little guy when he can (though that blow is more likely to be a waylay from behind than an open challenge to a duel). He mocks and distrusts authority of any kind, believes there's no such thing as a good ruler, and is rather utilitarian in his views, though he has a deep respect for magik and the forces of nature.
Along his path he has made many brief friends and many small enemies, but has not formed many lasting bonds, save with his brothers. He has angered a few powerful people in the lands he's passed through: for instance, in April of 509, he was playing The Slug and Lettuce tavern in Old Town; seeing a pretty young thing flirting with him, he sang some bawdy ballads for her entertainment and did a bit of innocent dancing. How was he to know this was Ilyathia Ferran, daughter of the powerful Ildas Ferran who was meeting with his guild contacts in a back room? A rather burly bodyguard, some off-duty members of the City Watch, and the eventual brawl that resulted broke up that meeting and landed Rambert in prison for a couple of weeks. Thankfully, his persuasive powers got him back out rather faster than was planned and he is holing up in the Foreign Quarter until things cool down a bit further.
The Garnock clan has always had tenuous relations with the Camgialls. Old Wylin was never keen on paying tariffs, but also knew better than to cross the most powerful clan on the Isles, so kept up good appearances with them but was never more than cordial, and that lukewarm cordiality was returned. They are good friends and companions of the Kavanagh Clan, who supply much of the cloth for their sails and trade. The real enemies of the Garnocks has always been the Thorcaill Clan, who also run trade out of Yröd. Their operations are slipshod at best, but they undercut the Garnock trade nonetheless. Their rivalry was only just short of a blood feud.
This made Rambert's secret romance with Aithne Thorcaill all the more problematic. They were both in their teens, but their passion was such that they could not resist one another. They managed to keep their liaison secret for nearly a year, but when it was discovered that Aithne was in a family way, the whole story came out. Rambert left Gherin Culloch as much to escape the undoubted wrath of the clan head Deverell Thorcaill as to seek his fortune. Sadly, he has never discovered what became of Aithne, and is a bit afraid to find out.
Rambert has knocked about the continent for the past score of years, ending up doing jobs of one kind and another in many towns in many countries. He's not above fibbing about his past to make an interesting story, and he always feels compelled to add some personal note about how he learned a tale or song. He has spent time gathering mages' reagents in Karandia (making a friend of the minor wizard Angin Undosian in the process); passed time learning and teaching tales in Orenvale (if only hobbit women were of a different stature, he might have stayed); did some lumbering in Akkoria and actually joined the Navy for a very brief stint (his sudden and unannounced departure two weeks after joining has earned him the enmity of his commanding officer, Adiron Jadoch); and spent some fair amount of time in Quivera, DeMekrium, and Irroquin. His doings keep him in ale and company, though he occasionally runs afoul of the law for minor issues.
Rambert carries a blade but is not particularly skilled with it. He doesn't have much truck with such niceties as honor, courage, and the rest, though he's basically good-hearted and a soft touch for those in trouble. He affects a very gruff and worldly demeanor with a devil-may-care attitude, but he hates to see injustice done and will strike a blow for the little guy when he can (though that blow is more likely to be a waylay from behind than an open challenge to a duel). He mocks and distrusts authority of any kind, believes there's no such thing as a good ruler, and is rather utilitarian in his views, though he has a deep respect for magik and the forces of nature.
Along his path he has made many brief friends and many small enemies, but has not formed many lasting bonds, save with his brothers. He has angered a few powerful people in the lands he's passed through: for instance, in April of 509, he was playing The Slug and Lettuce tavern in Old Town; seeing a pretty young thing flirting with him, he sang some bawdy ballads for her entertainment and did a bit of innocent dancing. How was he to know this was Ilyathia Ferran, daughter of the powerful Ildas Ferran who was meeting with his guild contacts in a back room? A rather burly bodyguard, some off-duty members of the City Watch, and the eventual brawl that resulted broke up that meeting and landed Rambert in prison for a couple of weeks. Thankfully, his persuasive powers got him back out rather faster than was planned and he is holing up in the Foreign Quarter until things cool down a bit further.